Communication means for skiing apparatus



is REE-imam J. MOORE COMMUNICATION MEANS FOR SKIING APPARATUS Filed Aug.1, 1958 INVENTOR. JU/PDEIV MOORE ATTORNEYS Feb. 25, 1964 O- V a E UnitedStates Patent 3,122,609 COMMUNICATION MEANS FOR SKIING APPARATUS JurdenMoore, 93 Celia- SW., Grand Rapids, Mich. Filed Aug. 1, 1958, Ser. No.752,606 6 Claims. (Cl. 179-1) This invention relates to skiing apparatussuch as is used in the sport of water skiing and more particularly to ameans of providing communication between a water skier and the operatorof a boat for reasons of safety and improvement of the sport.

The operator of a boat pulling a water skier is continually required toturn his head to check on the presence of his water ski tow.Consequently, he cannot concentrate his attention fully on either of hisresponsibilities of maneuvering the boat with regard for the safety ofother persons on or in the water, nor ascertaining the presence andwell-being of his water ski passenger.

The person traveling behind the boat on water skis also has theirattention diverted from the enjoyment of the sport from time to time inorder to give visual hand signals to the operator of the boat. This notonly detracts from the enjoyment of the sport but frequently results inan upset due to loss of balance or some other mishap.

Since the operator of the ski towing boat cannot di rect his fullattention to the person on the skis, he is often unaware that hispassenger has fallen or let go of the tow until sometime afterward. Ininstances where the tow is inadvertently released by the water skier, itis important that the boat return to pick up the water ski passenger assoon as possible in case of serious injury.

These are only a few of the inadequacies in the sport as presently knownand practical, and bear out the need for new and improved water skiequipment. Accordingly:

-It is an object of this invention to provide a means of communicationbetween the operator of a boat and his water ski tow passenger.

It is also an object of tln's invention to provide means of soundcommunication between a water skier and the towing boat so that theattention of the boat operator need not be diverted from the task ofsteering the boat.

It is another object of this invention to provide a means of voicecommunication between a water skier and boat operator to enable moreexplicit instructions as regards maneuvering the boat for theconvenience of the skier.

Still another object of this invention is to provide means ofcommunication between a water skier and a boat operator in combinationwith the ski tow rope.

A further object of this invention is to incorporate a .Voice T PiLXQQQVCC Within the hand hold member at IE6 d an towing o ration.

A n" even fiirtherobject of this invention is to provide an operablecontrol for the voice circuit between the ski enthusiast and the boatoperator.

Also among the objects of this invention is to locate the voice controlin a position where it will be actuated by the impulses of the waterwhen the device has been dropped by the ski enthusiast, as when theenthusiast has fallen from his skis.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the principal object of thisinvention is centered around providing some means of communicationbetween a ski enthusiast and the operator of a boat for reasons ofsafety and for the greater enjoyment of the sport of water skiing.

These and other objects and advantages in the practice of this inventionwill be more apparent in the illustration and description of a workingembodiment of the inven tion, as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial illustration of a boat with a ski tow apparatus ofthis invention connected thereto.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial illustration of the water skier making use of thisinvention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the ski tow apparatusof this invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the communication circuit of thisinvention.

The water ski apparatus of thisinvention includes a tow ropghav ng.means of engggeme t t iaaa zgi teat i. The hand hold member 1s formed toprovide two separable parts that include means for axially engaging thetwo parts together, Voice receptive means, such as a small soundmicrophone, is mounted within one of the hand hold parts. The smallmicrophone is connected by a wire interwound within the tow rope tovoice receptive and amplifying equipment within the boat. The hand holdmember which includes the microphone includes a small control switchwhich is mounted on the hand hold part on the side thereof engaged bythe tow rope.

A person on water skis using the ski tow apparatus of this inventionmerely disassoci-ates the two parts of the hand hold member and holds onto one while the other, with the microphone, is raised into a speakingposition. The control button is depressed and communication is availableto the operator of the towing boat. If the hand hold member includingthe microphone is dropped into the water, as when a ski enthusiast fallsfrom his skis, the circuit control button is so located that it will bespasmodically operated by the water wave impulses as the hand hold partbounces over the water. This alerts the boat operator to the loss of hisski tow passenger.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a power boat 10 with an operator 12 seated atthe controls. A ski ioyg gope li The tow rope is shown con;

ed to the boat.

n I Q A wire conductor 18 w rope 14, as will be described later, and isconnected to a communication console unit 20 mounted in the instrumentpanel of the boat. Headphone leads 22 are connected to the communicationconsole 20 and to headphones 24 worn by the operator of the boat.

9..15i LQ, Qgadliilgsildsihaakatoaa.wateraskiersillm The ski enthusiast30 is shown on water skies 32, by. FIG. 2. The ski tow rope 14 isseparated 'nt hach of the tow rope separations 34 is further divided I42 and 44. Each of these parts include holes 46 near each of its ends toreceive the tow rope ends 36 and 38 therethrough. The ends 36 and 38 ofthe tow rope are engaged to the hand hold parts 42 and 44 on the samesides of each part.

The members 42 and 44 which form the hand holding member 40 of the skitow apparatus, are hollow tubular members, or the like. The one handholding part 44 includes a member 48 of reduced cross section which maybe telescoped into engagement with the hollow end 50 of the other handhold part 42. Thus the two parts 42 and 44 of the hand hold member 40may be separated or engaged together at will.

The member 48 may be of wood or other buoyant material. It may extendclear through the hand hold part 44 or may merely close the ends toprovide an air chamber therein for making the hand hold part 44 morebuoyant and such as will float if dropped in the water. The other handhold part 42 may also include some means therein providing buoyancy. r

A small sound receptive microphone 52 is mounted within the end of thehand hold part 42. The end of the hand hold part receiving themicrophone 52 is cut at an angle 54 to dispose the microphone in adirection away from the ski tow rope 14, and accordingly in a positionwhich is easier for the skier 30 to use. The microphone 52 is naturallysuch tas is not affected if it is dropped in the water.

The microphone 52 is connected to the conductor wire 18 which is shownin FIG. 3 as interwoven within the ski tow rope 14, and moreparticularly within the parts 34 and 36 which lead to the end of thehand hold part 42 near the microphone.

A control button 56 is mounted within the hand hold part 42 near themicrophone end thereof. The control button is disposed between the endsof the hand hold part 42 and on the side thereof to which the ends 36and 38 of the tow rope 14 are engaged.

In FIG. 5 is shown the voice circuit 60 of the disclosed ski towapparatus. The microphone 52 and the control button 56 are connected inseries, by the wire conductor 18 which extends through the ski tow rope14, with a power supply source 62 which forms part of the communicationconsole 20. The communication console also includes a poweramplification source 64 which is connected to the headphones 24 worn bythe boat operator 12.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the person 30 on the water skis32 has means of voice communication with the operator 12 of the boat 10,whenever desired.

Operation the tow rope 14. The tow rope 14 is connected to the hand holdparts 42 and 44 as has been described.

To make use of the ski tow apparatus, the tow rope 14 is connected tothe boat 10, as to the swivel connection 16. Phone plug jacks or thelike are used to connect the wire conductor 18 from the tow rope '14 tothe communication console 20. Similarly, the headphone lead 22 isconnected to the console 20. The boat operator 12 wears the headphones24 as shown by FIG. 1.

With the boat underway and the-ski enthusiast 30 supported on the skis32 on the water, the communication system of this invention is made useof in the following manner:

The water skier 30 disconnects the hand hold part 42 from the other part44. The part 44 is held in one hand to maintain towing engagement withthe boat 10. With the other hand the part 42 is raised to a speakingposition as is shown in FIG. 2.

The microphone 52 at the end of the hand hold member 42 is raised nearthe mouth and the control button 56 is depressed by a finger or thumb ofthe skiers hand holding the member 42.

When the button 56 is depressed the voice circuit 60 is closed andcommunication may be made with the operator 12 of the power boat 10.

As will be appreciated, the boat operator 12 may direct his fullattention to maneuvering the boat 10. He is able to receivecommunication from the water skier 30 via the headphones 24 whenever theski enthusiast wishes to communicate with him. At the same time, aperson on the water skis may disassociate the hand hold parts 42 and 44and raise the one part 42 to communicate with the boat operator whenevernecessary or desirable. The hand hold parts 42 and 44 are readilyreengaged together after instructions have been given to the boatoperator 12.

In the event the tow passenger 30 falls from the skis the hand holdmember 40 will fall into the water. Due to the location of the controlbutton 56 on the side of the hand hold part 42 between the tow rope ends36 and 38, the button is in position to be spasmodically operated as itis bounced across or towed through the water. Accordingly, a boatoperator 12 will be immediately aware of what has happened due to thefluctuations in the communication circuit 60.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described, itwill be understood that other modifications and improvements may be madethereto. Such of these modifications and improvements as incorporate theprinciples of this invention are to be considered as included in thehereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their languageexpressly state otherwise.

I claim:

1. A water ski tow device, comprising; a tow rope haying m an s ofengagement to a towlng boat at"t3'ii" "nd rid a hanafibidmgnelapggrerjasitar fli' pthere-ndthegggf, said hand holding memberhaving 's'pa rableparts each connected to said towing rope, a microphone mounted withinone of said separable hand holding parts, voice communication linesconnected to said microphone and interwound within said tow rope, andvoice receptive means mounted within said towing boat and connected tosaid communication lines for receiving a message transmitted from awater skier using said hand holding member.

2. A water ski tow device, comprising; a tow rope having means ofengagement to a towing boat at one end thereof and a hand holding memberfor a skier at the other end thereof, said hand holding member includinga microphone mounted therein, and communication lines connected to saidmicrophone and arranged within said tow rope for connection to voicereceptive means within said tow boat, and an on-off control provided onsaid hand holding member on the side thereof with which said tow rope isengaged and interconnected between said communication lines andmicrophone for permitting selective use of said microphone by a waterskier using said hand holding member and spasmodic actuation by waterWave impulses upon being dropped into the water while said boat isunderway.

3. A water skiers tow device, comprising; a tow rope having means ofengagement to a boat and including a hand hold member for a skier at theother end thereof, said hand hold member being formed to provide twoseparable parts and having means of axially engaging said two partstogether, said tow rope being engaged to said hand hold parts near eachend of each of said parts and at the same side thereof, a microphonemounted within the outer end of one of said hand hold parts,communication lines connected to said microphone and interwound withinsaid tow rope and that part thereof engaged to said one hand hold part,said microphone and communication lines being a part of a voicetransmitting circuit to said tow boat enabling a water skier using saidhand hold member to convey instructions to the operator of said towboat, and a circuit control switch mounted on said one hand hold partbetween the ends thereof and on the side thereof with which said towrope is engaged, and interconnected within said voice transmittingcircuit, for permitting said water skier to selectively activate saidvoice circuit and causing water wave impulses to spasmodically activatesaid circuit when said hand hold part is dropped in the water by saidwater skier while said tow boat is underway, to alert said boat operatorof such mishap.

4. A water ski tow device comprising, a tow rope having means ofengagement to a towing boat at one end thereof and a hand holding memberfor a skier at the other end thereof, voice communication means providedbetween said handle and said boat; said communication means including avoice transmitting means mounted on said handle and a voice receivingmeans mounted at said boat whereby a message may be communicatedtherebetween.

5. A water ski tow device comprising, a tow rope having means ofengagement to a towing boat at one end thereof and a hand holding memberfor a skier at the other end thereof, voice communication linesassociated with said tow rope and connecting with said hand holdingmember and said boat, voice communication equipment means connected tosaid communication lines at said handle and at said boat whereby amessage may be communicated therebetween.

6. A water ski tow device comprising, a tow rope having means ofengagement to a towing boat at one end thereof and a hand holding memberfor a skier at the other end thereof, a voice communication systembetween 15 2,914,018

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,043,526 Lindal Nov. 5, 1912 2,377,442 Osterhoudt June 5, 19452,691,784 Eckl Oct. 19, 1954 2,776,443 Howard Jan. 8, 1957 Schachner eta1 Nov. 24, 1959

5. A WATER SKI TOW DEVICE COMPRISING, A TOW ROPE HAVING MEANS OFENGAGEMENT TO A TOWING BOAT AT ONE END THEREOF AND A HAND HOLDING MEMBERFOR A SKIER AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, VOICE COMMUNICATION LINESASSOCIATED WITH SAID TOW ROPE AND CONNECTING WITH SAID HAND HOLDINGMEMBER AND SAID BOAT, VOICE COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT MEANS CONNECTED TOSAID COMMUNICATION LINES AT SAID HANDLE AND AT SAID BOAT WHEREBY AMESSAGE MAY BE COMMUNICATED THEREBETWEEN.